FIG4-Estimated number of people in the EU-27 highly annoyed by noise from road, rail and aircraft for the period 2017-2030 under conservative and optimistic scenarios

High annoyance is based on functions outlined in the World Health Organization environmental noise guidelines (WHO Europe, 2018) and number of people exposed to noise levels above 55dB during the day-evening-night period (Lden) because of road, rail and aircraft noise in areas covered by the Environmental Noise Directive (END). The 2017 data were reported to the EEA under the END, while the data for 2022 and 2030 are projections based on modelling. The projections are based on different hypotheses, assumptions and approximations, each of which has associated uncertainties.

The projections assume uniform implementation of the measures in all countries.

The potential for reduction in each country depends on how many actions/measures have already been implemented.

A decrease in noise levels due to the noise reduction measures is assumed to result in an annoyance decrease of at least that predicted by the WHO exposure-response relationship.